You will need a piece of paper, a pencil, and inspiration of course. For this tutorial we are using Aquarelle paper, which will provide an interesting portrait due to the paper’s thickness and texture. Thick paper is preferred because it is less possible to be torn apart if you use your eraser a lot.

We’re using a 2B pencil for this drawing, but for sketching you can also use an HB, B, or any type of H pencil.

Use Guidelines to Place Facial Features

Step 1 – Look at the picture and try to outline the main parts of the face like the outer oval, eyes, lips, nose, hairline, etc. It will be helpful to try to measure how many times one part of the face can fit in another on your reference photo and then look if your drawing matches it.

This is a well-known method. For example, how many heads fit in the whole adult body? In our case, we might ask how many times the width of the face can fit in its height. The answer would be roughly one and a half times. You can use this method for other parts of the face as well.

Do not press too hard on your pencil, because in future steps you will need to get rid of some lines.

Step 2 – Now try to outline the main parts on the inside of the face. Draw rough boxes and guidelines that properly place the eyes, nose, lips, mouth, and hairline. Maybe add a little bit of line to indicate the shoulders as well. You don’t need to worry about them too much for now, since we are primarily concentrating on the face.

Step 3 – Observe the reference photo and try to draw the eyes, nose, and lips as closely to the original as possible in those spaces you outlined before.

Basic Face Outline and Highlight Placement

Step 4 – Erase those extra guidelines. Carefully reshape the remaining lines as needed so the form more closely matches Selena’s features. Add some tiny lines that serve as extra details. Some examples include lines above the eyes to indicate the upper eyelids, the outline of the irises, and some small lines on the nose.

Step 5 – Look closely at the picture and try to draw, lightly pressing on the pencil, those spots that are the most light and shiny on the face. They will need to stay untouched for most of the time.

Step 6 – Add some details from the reference photo like the pupils and highlights in the eyes, subtle lines under Selena’s eyes, in the corner of her lips, cheekbone lines, neck and collar lines, etc.

Shading the Eyes

Step 7 – Now, let’s get into a little more of the details. We can start with the eyebrows. It is important to remember that eyebrows do not grow randomly. They have their own direction, so try your best to follow it.

Step 8 – Now let’s draw eyelashes. As said before with the eyebrows, remember that eyelashes follow a certain direction too. From the center of the eye, the direction changes to the opposite one. Now you can press harder on the pencil, since the harder you press, the darker the value will be. Selena’s eyelashes need to be very dark.

Step 9 – Now start shading the eyes. Add value to the iris of each eye. Also darken the pupils of the eyes, as pupils should be very dark.

Additionally, it is slightly darker along the upper part of the whites of the eyes where the upper eyelids cast a shadow below. Do not press too hard on the pencil for this shading.

Shading the Nose

Step 10 – Shade Selena’s nose, avoiding the white parts you outlined before. Press lightly on the pencil, and try to make strokes all in the same direction.

Step 11 – Now layer more shading onto the nose. Try to imitate with strokes the direction and angles of different nose parts.

Shading the Lips

Step 12 – Repeat Step 10 but shading the lips.

Step 13 – Repeat Step 11 but shading the lips. Now you can press harder since lips are darker in value. You can now use pencils like 3B, 4B, 5B and so on. For the example presented in this tutorial, we will use the same pencil (2B) just to show that if you do not have a lot of pencils it is not a problem. Use an eraser to create white shiny parts, imitating lip gloss.

Shading the Face

Step 15 – Now it is getting a little trickier. You’ll have to observe with attention the shading on your reference photo and try to put shading on the same spots. Still try not to press too hard on your pencil.

If you have a hard time following the shading on a colored reference photograph, just turn it black and white in any photo editing program. It is important also to put a paper handkerchief or a piece of paper under you drawing hand so as to not smudge your already existing shading and create a mess.

Step 16 – Continue shading on the other side of the face as well. After you are done, try with light strokes to create a gradient passage from shaded parts to those outlined white spots. Doing so will ensure they won’t stand out as much and will seem more realistic.

Shading the Hair

Step 17 – Shade the hair, pressing harder on the pencil but not too hard.

Step 18 – Imitate shades on the reference photograph.

Do not use straight harsh strokes. Instead use curved strokes that imitate the curvature of hair, as seen below. You may wish to use another type of pencil, as mentioned in Step 13.

Step 19 – Finish shading Selena’s hair. Leave some of the lesser dark parts untouched in some places to imitate shiny, healthy hair. Draw loose strands of hair along the outer edges and along the hairline.

Completing the Portrait

Step 20 – Shade the rest of the body with light strokes, using the same pencil that was used for the facial skin tones.

Step 21 – Shade the collarbone and other darker parts, always trying to change stroke direction and inclination according to the reference photo. Add details like moles and use an eraser to pull out highlights as needed.

Look over your drawing for any necessary fine-tuning or finishing touches. Carefully brush away any residue left behind on your drawing from your eraser.

At this point, your drawing should be complete! Hopefully you found this tutorial on how to draw Selena Gomez useful. I trust that you will apply some of the tips from this lesson to some of your future drawings.

Note: I would like to thank artist Mariia Luzina for contributing her drawings and tips for this tutorial!

Subscribe to the free Let's Draw People Newsletter

...plus get this special gift just for joining!

Sign up below to receive my free newsletter, emailed twice per week. Get a wealth of information on how to draw people, including updates on new blog posts, drawing tutorials, and exclusive content and resources not found here on the website. Plus, get a copy of my guide How to Make Realistic Line Drawings of Any Face. You will learn proven techniques that turn any photo into an accurate drawing!

2 comments

You are welcome! It can also be helpful to do the same thing with shadows.

About Jack Pearce

I am the founder of Let’s Draw People. A self-taught artist, I became involved with and enchanted by drawing at a very early age. After experimenting with multiple types of media and subject matter, I discovered that my true artistic passion lies in sketching people and drawing detailed portraits in pencil. My reason for starting this site is to help other aspiring portrait artists learn how to draw people by improving their skills and rediscovering their drawing passion!

Find Us on Facebook

Need More Help? Join Let's Draw People Club!

Hours of portrait drawing instruction at your fingertips!

How does someone with little drawing experience draw a realistic portrait? Simple! It is done one pencil stroke at a time. Take a "paint by numbers" approach to drawing realistic portraits by watching full-length video tutorials. Watch every move of the pencil unfold and explained before your eyes as you draw along. Do not let lack of talent or experience hold you back any longer. Become a member of LDP Club and draw like a pro today!